I Didn’t Puke and I Wasn’t Last

Everyone has a different marker of success.  I had to run a mile and a half today, for a class I’m taking in college, and I am not a runner, not in the least.  Your marker of success might have been to run the thing in 10 minutes.  Someone else’s might have been to simply finish.  My two goals were to avoid puking and not be last.  So in that respect, I succeeded. 

The class I’m taking is part of my personal trainer certification track and it is called ‘Group Fitness Instruction’. We just started this week so we are establishing baselines!  We are doing things like taking measurements, tracking weight, establishing body fat percentages and testing fitness ability in different areas. Today we ran a mile and a half while wearing heart monitors so that we could calculate VO2 MAX.  

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google it, it’s interesting 🙂  Basically, our muscles, get more efficient at using oxygen when we do regular aerobic exercise. This is because of an increase in the activity and number of enzymes that move oxygen into the muscle. A way to measure this is known as “VO2 Max.” During exercise, VO2 Max is the point at which the body can no longer increase the amount of oxygen it uses despite the intensity of the exercise increasing. The more you exercise, the higher your VO2 Max point becomes, making your muscles that much more efficient.  So between the distance we ran, and the heart rate recorded on the monitors, we are able to calculate this vital piece of information.

Now, here’s the thing. Do you all know that I have never been a runner? I was terrible at running even in high school – hated the track thing. Doctors have told me for years that I should not run due to my jacked up knee. Well guess what. I went to the Dr. yesterday for my monthly check-up. I told him about my classes and goal for PT cert. He is very happy with me, says I’m perfectly healthy, and there is NO reason why I cannot run. Aww man. He gave me a green light to run, and then told me it would actually be very good for me with my genetic mutation to help prevent potential heart disease.  You know what else? He told me that running on a regular basis would ALSO help with my loose skin from all of this weight loss. Wow. I’ve never in my life had a dr. tell me to run. Now I’m scared … aaaack. But alas I have two 5k’s that I have paid for coming up soon, and this class teacher seems dead set and determined to get me running.   I’m always telling people to get out of their comfort zone.  Well I certainly got out of mine today.  

Here are a few musings from this running thing today:

(1) I need a better bra.
(2) I will need to tape my knee or wear some kind of brace, because it does indeed still hurt when running.
(3) I hate hills.
(4) I hate heat. (Even though it was morning – it was hot and the sun was bright)
(5) While I am not really competitive by nature, I was determined not to be last.

Now here are some things I love about these classes and this community college I attend:

(1) The students in these classes are quite diverse.  We have all kinds of folks of different ages, shapes and sizes and abilities. We have retired vets, young hard bodies and even a deaf girl who has an interpreter. 
(2) The professors are amazing, and my first instructor is actually a former student of my second instructor. Her husband also teaches several exercise classes.  
(3) From best I can tell, there is no judging or condescending looks.  Everybody cheers everybody else.
(4) The campus is very beautiful with fabulous landscaping, walking trails, picturesque sitting areas and nice facilities.
(5) The gym has a great locker room, shower and even an awesome water fountain with filtered water specifically to fill up water bottles.  This was especially appreciated as I was walking back inside from the run.

Best. Water. Fountain. Ever.

As always, make champion choices,
The Healthy Habit Lady